Dismal Angel Episode 14: My Valentine
by AngelExposed
Summary: Valentines Day arrives, and Remy & Rogue have plans for it, but their inability to get along might put a dampers on those plans, and if that doesn't, there are even MORE surprises in store (Finished - r&r).
1. Chapter 1: Disagreement

Chapter 1: Disagreement

             Remy LeBeau hated picking up garbage.  Sure he could think of a hundred other things he hated even more than this one task – but hell, he could think of a hundred things he'd rather do also – most of those hundred things he'd rather do involved Rogue.  

             He gave a sigh, picking up a piece of newspaper from the driveway that, in this harsh February wind, had been travelling along the driveway at top speed, he'd only just caught up with it.

             Remy LeBeau felt slightly disenchanted by his every day chores.  Being deemed as the mansions 'odd job man' was nothing he could be particularly proud of, picking up garbage, pulling weeds out of the gardens, sweeping the driveway, not to mention all the other chores inside the mansion itself.  

             Once, Remy LeBeau had been a Thief – the son of a grand master thief in an elite underground society of thieves – the Thieves Guild.  Remy had always been one of the best, his father had always told him, especially considering his tender age.  By the time of age sixteen, Remy had stolen so many expensive and extravagant things, that he was sure the grand total of all his thievery must have summed up to at least five-hundred thousand dollars worth of goods.

             Of course, he'd never seen any of that money.  Thieves were paid to steal but never kept anything they stole for their own profit – it was one of the bylaws of the guild, which was why Remy had never been deemed – at least by his standards – wealthy.  In fact, at most times there was barely twenty dollars in his pocket, only enough to sustain his cigarette habit, and that was all.

             But the need for money wasn't Remy's reason for doing odd jobs around the Xavier mansion.  Fact was, he was an X-Man, and X-Men all played their little parts in the running of the mansion – which doubled as an institute for mutants so they could learn to harness their powers fully.

             Remy hadn't joined for the same reasons as the others.  Remy knew all the information and control he could possibly know regarding his own powers, the ability turn almost anything he touched into a weapon by charging it with explosive kinetic energy.  There was nothing more he felt he could learn about this, nor his natural agility or even his obscure power to charm people with his eyes.

             Remy had spent several months wondering why exactly he had joined the X-Men in the first place.  He'd spent most of his life preparing to be a professional thief, which paid a substantial amount more than what he was being paid by Professor Charles Xavier for his little odd jobs.  Remy's morals and logic hadn't always applied to the rest of the world, Thieves had their own rules and regulations, had their own reasons and ethics.

             It was the reason why he secretly had never completely settled with the X-Men, and sometimes why he felt the need to run.  He felt almost as if he were the outsider – but he had to remind himself even back home in his beloved New Orleans, amongst his family, and his guild, he'd always been an outsider.  He'd never completely fitted in anywhere.

             After having thought about it long and hard so many times, during many arguments with the girl he loved – Marie D'Ancanto, a girl who liked to be known only as Rogue – he came to the conclusion that he'd joined the X-Men to atone for his role in the things that had happened to Rogue, however, he knew that somehow, he never really had.

             Since joining the X-Men, he'd played a bigger role in Rogue's life, harassing her so she'd pay attention to him, until she fell for him and he for her, and then the troubles really started – something he was beginning to get used to, and had been used to since the age of fifteen.  Whenever there was romance in Remy LeBeau's life, something was always sure to go wrong. 

             With Thieving, Remy was infallible, he could make everything work out to plan, just the way he intended it, but with love?  With love, Remy had a flair for always saying the wrong thing, or doing the wrong thing, and after all the relationships – long or short lived – he'd still never quite learned how to make things work out correctly with a girl. 

             It had never really bothered him up until having met Rogue.  Of course, up until he'd fallen in love with Rogue, any other girl he'd been with had been nothing more than a passing amusement at best.  

It had been a self-rule of his to never date a girl he could easily fall in love with.  He'd pick girls who were dull and vain, the ones who didn't interest him in the slightest – apart from sexually – and then when things didn't work out he didn't have to worry about the hurt later, because there was none…at least not for him.

When meeting Rogue, he'd seen her as nothing more than another one of those girls.  She was cold, abrupt and she had issues that even she really didn't want to address.  And she had hated him, with a passion.  

That had been what had attracted Remy into flirting with her in the first place.  There wasn't a girl or woman on earth he couldn't somehow make like him, and Rogue's hatred of him was so powerful that the challenge beckoned him.  He also reminded himself that if he was to somehow atone for the guilt he felt over what he'd done – over his involvement with Carol Danvers and how Rogue came to absorb her powers – he'd have to get Rogue to like him first.

And Rogue, like the other girls, had been the kind of girl he picked, the kind of girl who didn't interest him, the kind of girl who was too high maintenance – one he was sure he'd never fall in love with.

Unfortunately it backfired, and he did.

As Remy picked up more garbage from the driveway, he thought back distantly to the moment he first realised that he loved her.  The night he'd drowned and almost died – she'd saved his life, although he still felt undeserving of that.  He'd gone to the recreation room, and Rogue was sleeping soundly on the couch, and when he'd seen her, he'd felt emotion welling up inside him so strong that he'd hated it, and as he'd watched the sun come up, with the light from the rising sun beaming through the windows, directly onto Rogue's ashen skin, he'd realised that for the first time he really was in love.

The very thing he'd been trying to avoid had happened to him, and taken over his life, and now there was no turning back on it either – and he didn't want to anymore, even though his life would have been much easier if he could.

He sighed and tied up the plastic bag of garbage he'd been hauling around, and headed to the back of the mansion, and tossed it into the dumpster.  He was about to start picking up more garbage, when Professor Xavier's voice rang out in his head.

"Remy, could you please come and see me…right away," the voice spoke clearly.

Remy shoved the roll of black plastic garbage bags into his front left pocket, and headed inside, towards Professor Xavier's office.

He knocked, then opened the door and glanced around it, "something wrong?  Did I forget to do something…I know I didn't rotate the tires on the van, I'm gonna get to that soon though," he began.

"No…its not that, please, come in, sit down," Professor Xavier gestured towards a chair in front of his desk.

"I'd rather stand, if its all the same," Remy stepped in, closing the door behind him, he waited in silence, hoping the Professor would speak first, and he did – eventually.

"Rogue mentioned – for valentines day – that you will be taking her out tomorrow night."

Remy suddenly remembered.  With all the craziness of this past week – the arrival of his wife, who he was divorcing, Rogue's argument with him, and then the suicide, Remy had found it hard to keep up with everything going on in his life – one of the reasons he hadn't rotated the tires yet, he'd forgot, just like the date, "Yes…that's right," he finally nodded.

"I'd rather you not take her out at all, Remy.  This past week has been difficult for her…" Professor Xavier explained.

"But she wants to…" Remy frowned a little, "in fact she asked me last night if we're still on for the date – and I assured her we were…what's the big deal?"

Professor Xavier sighed, "the big deal, Remy, is that only days ago Rogue tried to kill herself with painkillers, she is still in a rather tender condition…"

"She's physically fine."

"But mentally not," Professor Xavier remarked sharply.

"I disagree," Remy stated.

"Whether you like to admit it or not, the reason she did what she did was in response to you – and I'm thinking it might be wise to refrain any romantic relationship until at least she's had time to recover emotionally," Professor Xavier used a strange calm tone.

"Professor…me and Rogue 'refrained' for two months," Remy commented, "neither of us want to 'refrain' anymore."

"I do know this, but you must understand—"

"Understand what?!" Remy demanded, his voice raising, "that now you want to be another obstacle in what's keeping me and her from being together.  First it was Miss Marvel, then her powers, and my lies, then my ex-fiancee, and recently my wife – who incidentally I'm divorcing – and now you?!" 

"Calm down!"

"I will not calm down!" Remy hissed, "I know you run things in this school, professor, but one thing you do not – and will never – control is me and Rogue bein' together.  If you wanna get between someone, get between Jean and Scott – after all they got things perfect, they deserve some kinda grief by now - but don't fuck with me and Rogue.  You can fuck off with that idea," Remy spun around and headed for the door.

"You will not walk away from this conversation!" Professor Xavier said loudly and angrily.

"Watch me," Remy remarked, he left the room, slamming the door behind him.


	2. Chapter 2: I Forgot to Say I Love You

Chapter 2: I forgot to say I love you

             Remy headed up to the floor where the girls dormitory was, the bathroom door was hanging open and Rogue was leaning over the bathtub with the showerhead in her hand, soaking her brown and white hair.  He watched her, knowing there would be no point in speaking since the noise the water was making as it hit the bath would drown out his voice no matter how loudly he spoke.  

             He stepped in, put down the lid of the toilet – which was about three feet away from her back - and sat upon it, folded his arms over his chest comfortably, leaning his back against the cistern, admiring her backside with a smirk on his face. 

             Remy could barely believe how long it took for a girl to wash her hair, he watched her with much interest, comparing the way she washed her hair to the way he washed his.  With him, a tiny dollop of generic shampoo, a few quick motions to lather it, and a hasty rinse, and it was done in a minute.  He waited about fifteen minutes, watching her carefully wash her hair with shampoo – that looked more expensive than the jeans he was wearing – and conditioner – that smelled like Key Lime.  She had been rinsing her hair for what seemed like forever, he decided he'd waited long enough, and he smacked his hand against her backside.

             She jumped, spinning around, water from her hair whipping off and splashing his face, he clenched his eyes shut, and let out laugh.

             "You asshole!" Rogue turned the shower off, "how long have you been there…"

             "Long enough," he smirked, wiping water off of his face.

             Rogue leaned over the bath and wrung her hair out quickly and grabbed a towel from the nearby rail, she turned to look at him.

             Remy studied her face, she wasn't wearing any makeup, her cheeks seemed a little rosier than usual, but it may have just been the heat from the shower water or perhaps a blush from his smacking her.  She looked so beautiful that way, as she stood towel drying her hair, "I didn't think I'd make you mad coming in, you did, after all, leave the door unlocked," he pointed out.

             "Yeah, well…" Rogue looked away, "that's an order of Professor Xavier's.  In fact…the lock has been taken off all the bathroom doors…even the ones in the boys dorms…"

             "Oh wonderful…" Remy made a face, "I didn't even notice…I never lock the door when I got to the bathroom," he admitted.

"I know, how many times have I walked in on you taking a piss?" Rogue reminded.

Rent realised why such action had been taken on all the lockable doors in the mansion, Rogue had locked herself in a bathroom and taken an overdose at the beginning of the week, had they gotten to her sooner, she might have lived without much intervention more than a stomach pump, had the bathroom door had not been locked, she might have never needed to absorb Logan's powers to live.

             Rogue looked at him, "you look a little tired, Remy…did you sleep last night?"

             "Sleep hasn't been kind to me," he admitted, "got lots of stuff keepin' me awake at night."

             "Poor baby," Rogue mocked, she finished towel drying her hair and shoved the towel in the hamper near the sink.

             "C'mere…" Remy pulled her down, so she was sitting on his lap, he looked at her, "How much you love me?" he asked.

             Rogue raised an eyebrow, "enough to tolerate you," she smirked, wrapping her arms around his neck carefully, making sure their skin could never touch.

             Remy looked at her, "I'm serious…"

             Rogue saw it in his face, it was clear something was bothering him.  "Why are you asking?" she asked.

             "I just…I want…" he tried to find the words but they wouldn't come.

             "You wanna have sex?" Rogue asked, raising an eyebrow, she couldn't help but feel hopeful, even though the thought of him wanting to be with her did scare her to death.  She seemed to be the only woman on earth who Remy hadn't been with – well, perhaps that was even an exaggeration.  But the thought of being left out of that – having never had that part of him, left her uneasy.

             "No…" Remy shook his head, actually he did, very much, but he knew that right now the time and the place was wrong – and it would only give Professor Xavier more reason to separate them.  "I just…"

             "What is this thing poking me…" Rogue looked down curiously, a long hard shape pressing out of his jeans.

             "Oh, this…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the roll of plastic bags, "I was cleaning the driveway," he tossed the roll into the sink.

             "Phew, had me worried there," she joked, getting up and heading towards the sink to find a hairbrush.

             "Rogue…" Remy said, "I'm not finished talking."

             "Remy have you done something bad again?  Because if so I don't wanna hear about it…" Rogue opened the bathroom cabinet, surprised at how empty it seemed, then she realised all the painkillers and hayfever tablets, even the herbal sleeping tablets, had now vanished.  "Hmm, looks like someone's taking precautions…" she sighed.

             Remy got up and stepped behind her, looking in the cabinet, "do you blame them?" he wrapped his arms around her from behind her, his chest pressing against her back, "we almost lost you."

             "I don't wanna think about it," Rogue sighed, she found a hairbrush in the cabinet and she took it out and closed the door.  

Remy looked to the mirror that was also the door of the cabinet, his reflection and hers staring back at him.  They looked so perfect together, mismatched, yet, matching.  He squeezed his arms around her tenderly, "promise me something."

"Anything," Rogue looked at his reflection, a slight smile on her face.

"Don't ever let anyone come between us," he kissed her shoulder – the mesh fabric of her top between their skin – and let go of her, and headed towards the door.

"Remy?" Rogue asked.

Remy stopped at the doorway, never turning.

"I do love you…" she said, she sounded slight, and embarrassed, but she'd said it, and that was all that mattered.

Remy turned and smiled at her, then left her alone in the bathroom.  The moment he had gotten to the bottom of the stairs, he hated himself.  He knew he should have told her, but he suspected Professor Xavier was intending to speak with her – perhaps he already had.  But if that was so, Rogue certainly didn't seem to be showing any concern over it. 

He'd almost left the mansion completely when he realised he'd forgotten the roll of plastic bags, sighing, he made his way up to the bathroom, Rogue was still in there, brushing her wet hair.

"I knew you'd be back," Rogue commented.

"Yeah, I forgot this…" Remy took the roll of black plastic bags from the sink.

Rogue stopped, "you didn't forget anything else?" she asked curiously.

"Uhm…no…" Remy put the roll in his pocket, "this is the only thing I left behind."

Rogue turned towards him and folded her arms, the hair brush firm in her grip.

Remy stopped and thought, "Uhm…no," he said again.

"You didn't—"

"I forgot to say I love you back…" he suddenly realised, he laughed a little, "sorry…I got things on my mind," he chewed his lip, "I do though…seriously…"  

"What time do we need to leave tomorrow?" Rogue asked casually..

"Seven…" Remy stated.

"Where we going?" Rogue asked, "how should I dress?"

Remy paused for thought, he'd already forgotten where he'd made reservations for dinner.  His thoughts had been full of chaos.  "I…uhm…" he rubbed his head, "I…" he looked perplexed, staring into space, "I forgot…"

"Remy…is something wrong?" Rogue asked, "You don't usually forget things…"

"Nothing, nothing is wrong," he feigned a smile, and stood straight, his voice full of enthusiasm, "It's an Italian restaurant, I just…can't remember the name of it," he explained, "You know me, I only have the capacity for two languages, any more than that, and I go all blah," he smiled, "Oh, and as for dress codes…wear something sexy," he winked, and with that, rushed off.

When Remy finally got back outside, he realised Rogue was right, he rarely forgot anything, he had a good mind for details – one of the traits of being a Thief – and when something as important as this valentines day date had slipped his mind, he began to realise something wasn't right.  He began to list things he'd forgotten during the last few days.  He had forgotten about their date, forgot to say he loved her, forgot to pick up the bags before leaving, forgot the name of the restaurant, forgot to shave this morning, he even forgot to brush his teeth.  It wasn't like him.  

"Stress," he told himself as he picked up candy wrappers from the driveway – they had blown in from the streets.  "You're stressed, you don't deal with stress, well, Remy," he told himself.  He glanced back to the mansion, from a large window on the third floor, Rogue stared out at him, he looked back at her, and told himself, "but for her…its worth it."


	3. Chapter 3: The Talk

Chapter 3: The Talk

             Remy's chores and duties took him all day – in fact, it was 8pm by the time he was finished, his fingers and cheeks stinging, his back and neck aching.  He hated February, he hated any month where the sun wasn't shining and warm air circulating around him.

             He stepped into the mansion, dirty, smelling of garbage, and feeling rather tender, his head hurting from all his thinking.  It was what he hated about his chores, they were all physical labour – it didn't require too much thought, and that was when other thoughts crept into the mind.

             Remy headed upstairs to the boys dorm, the bathroom silent, he sighed, and stepped in, yanking off his dirty clothes, and tossing them into a hamper, he shoved the plug in the bath, and turned on the hot tap, steam rising into the air moments later.  He glanced around, finding some bubblebath, its label promising muscular pain relief.  Normally bubbles weren't his thing – baths weren't either – but for the pain right now, he'd try anything.  He poured a generous amount into the water, and watched as bubbles began to build up over the surface.

             He looked at himself in the mirror.  Exhaustion, and pain agreed with him, anyone looking at him might have never even guessed how bad he was feeling, how tender his muscles were and how tired he was.  Thoughtfully, he ran his bare fingers against the scar on his chest, it had been so long ago since he'd received it, the wound hadn't ever really healed properly, it still looked almost fresh, the scar purpling, and almost seeming bruised slightly around the edges.

             When the bath was full of hot steaming water, he slipped in, wincing at how hot the water was, yet grateful for the effect it had to his cold and smarting skin.  He sank down, closing his eyes, exhaustion settling over him already.  

             _I should have told her about Xavier trying to stop us from dating…I had no right to keep it from her_, he thought at himself angrily, he dipped a washcloth into the water and took it out, watching water seeping from it desperately.  He sunk lower, until he was underwater up to his neck, the hot water lapping at his jaw and chin, bubble tickling his ears, he closed his eyes, feeling relaxation begin to finally kick in as he submerged himself in hot water and foam.

             Rogue stepped into Professor Xavier's office, hugging herself against a chill that had been raging in the hall all day.  He sat behind his desk, writing something, she had entered without knocking so quickly to redeem her manners, she knocked on the door as it hung open.  "Professor?"

             "Yes?" Professor Xavier stopped writing, he looked at her.

             "Remy was kind of upset…" Rogue said, "I spoke with him earlier, I was just wondering if you knew if something was wrong…"

             Professor Xavier – for the first time – had what Rogue could classify as a truly guilty expression on his face.  Rogue suddenly knew something had gone on – something Remy wasn't telling her.  "Myself and Remy did have a discussion – a disagreement if you will – of course, it was not what he wanted to hear so he stormed out swearing," Professor Xavier explained simply, "He's very headstrong."

             "Not always," Rogue rubbed her arms briskly, "What did you disagree about?"

             "Rogue, please sit down," Professor Xavier offered her a chair near the desk.

             "No thanks, I'd rather stand," Rogue said, Professor Xavier raised an eyebrow at her.  Rogue wondered if Remy had stood when he'd come to see the Professor also.

             "I think you and Remy should hold off on your plans for romance for maybe another few months…after your recent suicide attempt—"

             "Professor, please…" Rogue felt infuriated immediately, "I'd rather not be reminded – and what do you MEAN hold off our plans for romance, we've waited two months, we've been waiting since we met, I'm not gonna hold off any longer…"

             "Rogue, please, calm yourself," Professor Xavier looked rather helpless at that moment.

             "No," Rogue folded her arms angrily, "you know that everything has been trying to keep me from being with Remy and I'm not going to wait any longer.  I'm sorry, Professor, but this is one thing I'm gonna have to agree with Remy on…please stay out of this…its none of your business," Rogue fumed, and with that left, slamming the door behind her she didn't hear the crack of the wood, she was already flying up the stairs to find Remy.

             She looked all over for him, his room was empty, he wasn't outside, and Bobby had said he'd seen him going into the bathroom looking rather filthy.  The boys dorms were quiet, but downstairs Rogue could hear the excited cry of almost all the residents in the house – a pool match going on in the recreation room.  

             Rogue approached the bathroom door and knocked, "Remy?" she asked.

             No answer came, and Rogue began to wonder if he really was in there or not.  She tried the handle, for the moment forgetting all the bathroom doors didn't have locks anymore, the door swung open, Remy was lying in the bathtub, sleeping soundly.  Steam rising into the air from the water, foam sparkling around Remy's nude upper torso, she could see nothing below the waist.

             She admired him, the way his body glistened in the overhead light, the heat making his body sweat intensely, his hair tinged with water, his eyes closed lightly.  She slipped in, closed the door quietly behind herself, and knelt beside the bath, reaching over with a gloved hand to touch his cheek, "Remy…"

             Remy's eyes snapped open with a start, and he sat up, the water making a loud splash against the bath, he gasped, "what the…"

             "You fell asleep," Rogue pointed out, "don't you know that's dangerous?"

             Remy rubbed his face a little, his eyes felt unfocused and dry, "what time is it?"

             "Nine…" Rogue glanced at her watch, "How long you been in here…"

             "Since about eight-fifteen I think," Remy leaned back in the bath, "what are you doin' here?" he asked, he rubbed his head, it was throbbing.

             "I was lookin' for you.  Xavier just told me that me and you should hold off for a few months," Rogue said incredulously, "the nerve of that man," she snorted in contempt.

             "Yeah, he said the same thing to me," Remy sighed, he glanced over himself to make sure that she couldn't see anything below his waist, the last thing he needed was the embarrassment of that. 

             "Don't worry, I can't see anything," Rogue commented, "and what does it matter, I've already seen you naked."

             "You haven't taken a good look though, I'd like to protect what little modesty I have left," He said.  He turned on his side placing both arms on the edge of the bath and resting his cheek against them, "so…you disagreed with Xavier too?" he asked.

             "What do you think," Rogue reached over and moved some of Remy's damp hair away from his forehead, "You look tired," she murmured.

             "I am," He sighed, "Long day pickin' up garbage," he said, "and that danger room session this morning was a killer, its no wonder my back hurts," he mumbled, he looked up at her, she still wore no makeup, she looked so natural and fresh, her hair now dry, pulled back by a couple of butterfly clips.

             Rogue run her gloved fingers across his forehead in a romantic tender way, he closed his eyes, savouring the touch, even with the leather of her gloves between their skin, "look at you, so cute," she smirked.

             Remy smirked a little and opened his eyes, gazing up at her again, "just cute?  Or drop dead handsome and sexier than any man on earth?"

             Rogue laughed, "don't push it," she got up, "I better go."

             "Stay and talk to me," Remy murmured.

             "What do you possibly have to talk about?"

             "I don't know," Remy sighed, "I just wanna know that you're here, and not gonna go off and rethink about what Xavier said," he explained.

             "Fine," Rogue knelt back down beside the bath, her back against the wall, "You realise it's been almost nine months since you've been with the X-Men," she said.

             "I know," Remy laughed a little, "strange how time flies," he admitted, he looked at her deep in her eyes, and when she looked back at him he could see his reflection in those eyes, "I probably would have never come back if it hadn't been for you," he reached over, taking her gloved hand and kissing it lightly, "my cherie amour," he murmured. 

             "I told you not to call me that," Rogue rolled her eyes.

             "Y'know, I have pet names for you," Remy remarked, he sat up and began to finish washing his arms and shoulders, "but you never call me anything but Remy."

             "What do you want me to call you?" Rogue asked.

             "Your Adonis," Remy joked.

             "I'm serious," Rogue remarked.

             "I don't know, something that rolls naturally off of your tongue I guess," Remy shrugged.

             "Whatever I'd call you, it has to be something that'd suit you," Rogue pulled herself up, and sat on the edge of the bathtub, watching him scrub his shoulders.  "Nothing French though.  Something simple…like sweetie, or darling, or something," she shrugged.

             "Not sweetie, and not darling, I'm not a darling…" he remarked, he turned and looked at her as if she were absurd.

             Rogue smirked, "sugar."

             "Sugar," he raised an eyebrow, "I hate it even more."

             "I like it," Rogue smirked, "sugar it is."

             "No…" Remy pouted, "anything but that."

             "No, I've made up my mind.  You have your pet name for me, I have mines for you, we're even," Rogue took the washcloth from him and ran it between his shoulder blades.

             "I'd rather just be Remy, in that case," he closed his eyes, feeling the hot water trickling down her back as she pressed the cloth between his shoulder blades.  "Keep scrubbing," he then commanded.

             "What am I, your servant?" Rogue kept washing his back.

             "My love slave," Remy remarked with a soft laugh, he hugged his knees, "you should feel honoured, I never let girls scrub my back."

             "Never?" Rogue was surprised.

             "Never."

             "So…you've never did the shower thing then?" Rogue asked.

             "The what?" Remy glanced over his shoulder at her.

             "Y'know, the shower thing, its in all the movies, people havin' sex in the shower, scrubbin' each other, soap everywhere…not exactly the good clean fun you'd expect," She explained.

             "How much porn HAVE you been watching?" He raised an eyebrow.

             "Just answer the question…"

             "Never took a shower with a girl," he said quietly.

             "Not even with Bella Donna?" Rogue asked, it sounded as if she'd been so intent on asking it in the first place, as if the question had played itself in her mind.

             Remy already knew what was coming, but before he had time to realise it, he'd already answered, "no, I—"

             "You must have had some degree of love with her, you've been with her several times – even lost your virginity to her," Rogue remarked, "Isn't that meant to be special."

             "Its different—" Remy tried to say, but she interrupted again.

             "Did you and she do it all the time?" Rogue asked quickly.

             Remy felt his temper flare, "for fucks sake…" he shook his head, "get out…get out right now," he commanded angrily, gesturing to the door.

             "What?" Rogue asked, she looked quite taken aback by his sudden hostility.

             "Just get out."

             Rogue just stood, looking at him with confusion, "what did I do?!"

             "I'll tell you what you fucking did, you're getting on my nerves, that's what," he growled, "just get out."

             Rogue obliged, slamming the door behind herself.


	4. Chapter 4: Venting Out Frustration

Chapter 4: Venting Out Frustration

             Breakfast that next morning was…noisy, as about as noisy a kitchen full of teenagers between the ages of eighteen to thirteen could get.  Remy had never really been able to get along with most of the younger kids in the Mansion, despite their awe of him, and the adoring glances the younger girls would throw at him.  

             With it being Valentines day, there was a discussion of exactly that around the breakfast table, most of the boys thinking it was just another day, girls – except from Tabitha that was – disagreeing.  Kitty whining because she hadn't received even one card, and Jean gushing because she had received a card.

             Remy raised his eyes when Rogue entered the kitchen, she sat herself down, not exactly opposite him, two seats away from opposite him, between Amara, and Ray.   Rogue's hair was  pulled into a very messy ponytail, her makeup, as usual, expertly done, her skin white as porcelain.

             Rogue pretended not to see him, and she instead poured herself a glass of orange juice slowly, her expression sour.

             "Any valentines, Rogue?" Kitty asked, she being directly opposite Rogue.

             "None," Rogue said, she threw Remy a strange almost odious glance, and then looked back to Kitty, "but why should that change, I haven't had one in the sixteen years I've been alive, why should it suddenly change," she gave a feigned blasé shrug and sipped her orange juice, whilst reaching for a piece of toast.

             Remy had the distinct impression that Rogue was angry with him, he let matters be and didn't say anything.  He wouldn't blame her for being angry after he'd lost his temper the night before.  He couldn't explain it, really, it had happened so fast.  She'd brought up about Bella Donna – and it had hit a nerve, a raw one.

             Kitty glanced from Rogue to Remy, her eyes reminding Remy of a spectator from a game of tennis, "so…you guys have anything planned?"

             Remy was about to speak, Rogue interrupted, "the professor doesn't want us dating," she said, she hadn't meant to say it as loud, but had, everyone at the table went quiet and looked between Rogue and Remy.  In fact, most of them looked at Rogue as if to question if she should be dating.  Rogue felt strangely overwhelmed, the looks on their faces spoke of the surprise that she and Remy could be a couple.

             Remy looked at Rogue, "I believe that was the wrong answer," he said quietly.

             "Then what IS the right answer?" Rogue asked coldly.

             Remy put his hand over his eyes, shaking his head, "do NOT do this, not here, not now," he warned, the tension mounting in every part of him, he had barely slept, his back hurt and his mind was in a very hypersensitive way.  He wasn't sure how he would react.

             "I can't believe I was ready to die because of you," Rogue hissed across the table.

             "Why are you fucking doing this?!" he demanded of her trying to keep his voice to a minimum, but it grew louder with every word.

             "What did I do!?!" she demanded.

             "I'll tell you what you did," Remy slammed his hand on the table, it startled everyone around them, who were now watching with much shock and interest at their brawl, "you picked a fight with me, and now you're acting like I did something wrong!" he got up, he could feel the eyes of everyone burning on him.  

             Rogue looked up at him, she'd never seen him so angry with her, it was like a whole different person standing up with that frosty glare, "you DID start this fight!" Rogue looked at him, gaping, Remy could see she really believed that.

             "Me?!  How the fuck did I start this?!" he yelled, "You're the one who keeps asking stupid questions about my past – why can't you just fucking accept me for what I am and stop trying to force me to relive the past again and again!  I've had it!" he threw his hands up dramatically, clenching his fists in frustration, "I can't move on with you if you're going to keep throwing my past in my face like you're doin'!  All I want to do is forget and get on with life!" he leaned down on the table, yelling directly at her, "and you won't let me!!"

             Rogue's eyes were glistening with tears, this time, Remy couldn't even feel his heart ache seeing those tears form.

             "Not ONCE have I asked you about your past again, not once!" he slammed his fist on the table, "You told me there wasn't much to tell and that was the end of it – and I WILLINGLY let it slide!  But with you, you wanna know every little fucking detail, and then use it against me!" he headed towards the door, "every time you do it, I'm the one who ends up apologising!" he glanced over his shoulder at her, "and I'm not going to do it no more."

             He was gone in a moment, and Rogue broke into fresh tears.

             Remy headed outside to the back of the mansion, his anger still intense and overwhelming him, he kicked the nearby empty trashcan outside stubbornly, knocking it over on its side, listening to the steel clatter against the concrete on which it had stood, he watched the lid roll a few feet away.

             He wanted to scream and yell and hit things, but regretted it.  He rarely let himself get angry, he was usually quick without anger, usually able to resolve things without showing too much emotion.  Ever since the day he'd realised he'd fallen in love with Rogue, the way he would handle himself in every situation had begun to change.  If this had been years ago, with a girl picking fights with him, he'd have easily laughed it off, and found some way of turning it around so that things were fine, now, he just felt as if he lacked the energy.  

             He took his tobacco case out of his jeans pocket, and pulled out a cigarette he'd rolled earlier, he put it to his lips, and lit a match, cupping his hand over it to protect it from the harsh February wind.  Moments later his lungs were full of smoke, and he felt his temper beginning to evaporate as though the smoke was dissolving it away.

             "I thought things were okay between you two."

             Remy didn't turn when he heard the voice of Kitty Pryde interrupting his peaceful moment with his only friend – his cigarette.  "I don't want to talk right now," he said quietly.

             "Yes you do," Kitty picked up the trashcan and stood it up.  She retrieved the lid and placed it back on top neatly, "you don't usually lose your temper this way…" she said, "In fact, you usually deal with things a lot better, what's eating at you?" She asked.

             Remy leaned back against the wall, exhaling a cloud of smoke that vanished in the air almost immediately with the wind.  His hair blew in front of his face, and he tucked it behind his ear.  "She is," he muttered.  "Can't make her happy."

             Kitty hugged herself against the cold wind, "she's been through a lot lately, Remy," Kitty reminded, "you know that."  
             "So have I!" he yelled.

             Kitty put her hands up, "whoah, quiet down there, I'm not the enemy here," she reminded, she patted his shoulder.

             Remy sat on the back steps, taking a long drag of the cigarette, he remained silent for a moment, "I can't fight with her anymore, its draining me."

             "Yeah, used to get to me too sometimes," Kitty shrugged, "she likes to pick fights, that's her thing," Kitty sat beside him, pulling her knees up to her chest, "she used to fight with me all the time about the stupidest stuff," Kitty explained, "We still do, sometimes…" Kitty shrugged, "she's got a lot of frustration, you know," Kitty added, "she just needs to let it out until there's none left.  Think about it, Remy," Kitty turned to him, "she can't touch you…she can't kiss you, and certainly can't be with you under the sheets," Kitty pointed out, "she can't use physical contact, so she's venting out that frustration because it's – seriously – the only way she can get out some emotion towards you.  When the fights stop, that's when you should probably worry," Kitty shrugged.

             Remy stared into space, hearing her words, he realised Kitty was probably right, he'd come to those assumptions himself many times, it was definitely plausible that Rogue did pick fights because it was the only way she knew how to emote to anyone.  He gave a sigh, "You're probably right," he ran his hand through his windswept hair.

             Kitty got up, slapped his shoulder in a comforting way, then left, leaving Remy to his thoughts.

             Rogue was in the first floor bathroom, washing her smudged and tear-stained makeup from her face, she heard a knock at the door, "Not now," she sighed, splashing her face with cold water.

             But whoever was on the other side of the door didn't pay attention, for the door opened, Kitty stood in the threshold, "you okay?"

             "Do I look okay?" Rogue felt like laughing at the absurdity of Kitty's question, but instead, splashed her face again, and rubbed her eyes a little.

             "Not really, but its always polite to ask," Kitty sat up on the counter to which the sink was embedded, "Remy looked really angry," she said after a time.

             Rogue didn't even want to talk about it, but didn't have much will to ask Kitty to stop.

             "I've only ever seen him that angry once before," Kitty admitted, she picked up a nail file that had been sitting in a plastic cup on the counter top, and she began shaping her nails.  "On Sunday night, when you tried to kill yourself," Kitty said rather bluntly, "me and him had a fight, a massive, huge fight," Kitty said.

             Rogue pursed her lips together, the need to begin crying all over again starting to surface. 

             "We were just sitting in the kitchen, just like now, alone, over cups of coffee, and all it took was for me to say a few words, and we were off in this frenzied argument until we were screaming at each other, and crying, and we fought as hard as we would – I guess, it was our way of dealing with the situation," Kitty admitted, she looked away distantly for a moment.

             Rogue studied Kitty's face, waiting for kitty to continue speaking – she knew she would.

             "There was so many…raw…feelings that night," Kitty's voice stammered, "And everything built up, and needed to come out…" she shrugged, "do you ever feel that way?"

             Rogue looked to the mirror, staring at her own face, her puffy eyes and her slightly pink nose.  "All the time," she sighed.

             Kitty nodded, Rogue noted it was as if she was acknowledging something to herself, "is that why you fight with Remy so much?"

             Rogue gave a very weak shrug, and reached for a towel to dry her face.

             Kitty slipped off the counter, "Rogue, you need to find new ways of connecting with him, because if you continue fighting with him the way you do, you're eventually going to lose him…" 

             Rogue gave a short abrupt nod, and Kitty left the bathroom.

             After a few moments, Rogue headed out into the foyer, just in time to hear the buzzer for the gates securing the mansion's perimeter fence.  She headed over to the wall, where the intercom panel was embedded into the wall, and she switched the monitor on, a white van was parked outside, a guy leaning out of the window to speak into the intercom on the outside wall near the gates.

             "Delivery," he said clearly.

             Rogue pushed the button to open the gates, and headed outside, the white van drew up outside, the driver got out, opened the back doors, and pulled out a very large bouquet of blood red roses, there must have been at least three dozen of them.  

             "Delivery for…" the guy trailed off, "Marie D'Ancanto," he said.

             Rogue felt a sudden rush overwhelm her, her heart felt as if it'd been shocked with an electric volt, "that's me…"

             The guy smiled, "sign here please," he held out a clipboard and pen.

             Rogue quickly signed her name, it had been so long since she'd used her proper signature she was unsure if she'd done it correctly.  She took the roses, the delivery man went on his way.  She looked at the roses.  They were certainly beautiful, every single rose perfect, the thorns had been removed.  The roses were tied together with a dark green satin ribbon, a small card hanging from the ribbon itself.

             She pulled the card free, heading inside, she placed the roses on a nearby table, and unfolded the card, reading the words inside.
    
    When dusk will fold its arms around
    
    This world I give to you,
    
    And in the evening's sweet embrace
    
    I'll whisper of we two.
    
                     Rogue had to pull herself together before the allowance of tears of joy would run, she sniffed, noting the card was in Remy's handwriting, she realised this must have been planned days in advance.  She suddenly felt so foolish as to have picked fights with him earlier.  With a sigh of defeat, she headed off to find him, knowing it was her turn to apologise.
    
                     Remy was busying himself in the garage when Rogue finally found him over an hour later, the garage doors closed, and a small convector heater was blazing away on a table to in the corner, while Remy stood washing the X-Van, his T-Shirt splattered with water and foam.
    
                     Rogue stood at the small door that lead to the inside of the mansion, she watched him for a time, he seemed totally unaware of her presence, and continued to sweep the foamy sponge across the windshield of the van.
    
                     "Thank you for the roses," Rogue said, after a time.
    
                     Remy appeared to show no emotion or response to what she'd said, instead, he continued to wash the van with his foamy sponge.
    
                     "Are you alright?" Rogue queried quietly.
    
                     "What do you think," He remarked bitterly, he glanced over his shoulder at her.
    
                     "I think you're mad at me, and I guess you have right to be," Rogue looked away, "I loved the poem."
    
                     "Good."
    
                     Rogue found it hard to find anything to say, she walked up to him slowly, placing her hand on his back, his shirt was soaked from washing the van, not to mention perspiration from his hard work.
    
                     "Don't," He moved away, "Just don't try acting like nothings changed, okay?" He asked, he threw the sponge into the bucket.
    
                     Rogue chewed her lip, "nothing has…we're fighting like we always do."
    
                     "This time it isn't my fault," Remy stated, he grabbed the sponge and began scrubbing again.
    
                     Rogue stood at his back, "I know…and I'm sorry…" she trailed off.
    
                     He snorted, "Are you just saying that to make me feel better – or yourself."
    
                     Rogue was taken aback by his question, she ignored it completely.  "Kitty…spoke to me…she made me see that maybe…just maybe…you were right all along."
    
                     Remy turned and looked at her curiously, "In what way?"
    
                     "That I fight with you because I can't touch you…because there's no other way I can have a relationship with you than to fight?" Rogue mentioned quietly.
    
                     Remy looked at her, "there are better ways of emoting to me than picking goddamn fights all the time," he started washing the van again.
    
                     "How?"
    
                     Remy only smirked, despite himself, the anger he'd felt beginning to ebb away, he focused on the van, trying to make himself seem aloof and casual.
    
                     Rogue looked at him, "do you forgive me?" she asked in a timid tone.
    
                     Remy turned, and looked at her, "what do you think," he smirked a little and tossed the sponge at her, "here, give me a hand."
    
                     Rogue caught the sponge, and walked over, she began wiping the passenger side window of the van, whilst Remy went to find another sponge on a shelf nearby.  She watched him, chewing her lip, wondering if the fight was really over – or if it had only just begun.


	5. Chapter 5: Driving

Chapter 5: Driving

             Rogue came downstairs at 7pm, ready for the date that Remy had confirmed was still on for tonight.  He'd told her to be prompt, as there was a reservation he needed to arrive in time for.  When she got to the bottom of the stairs, Remy was nowhere in sight.  She glanced around nervously, wondering if it was possible he'd backed out at the last second and had stood her up.

             "Guess who?"

             Rogue felt something cold clap over her eyes, she reached up with her gloved hands, feeling a pair of hands under hers that were covering her eyes, "I give in," she commented, knowing fine well it was Remy.

             He let go of her eyes, and smirked, "you give in way too easy, Chere," he responded.

             "If I didn't, I'd have never come on this date with you, sugar," she murmured.

             Remy smirked, "I told you not to call me that," he moved back to get a good look at her.

             She was wearing a velvet dress that flared out at the skirt, a black suede jacket covered her bare arms.  Her hair was down, her make up not as severe as usual.  

             "Mon Dieu, vous regardez enchanter," he said, beaming.

             "I don't know what you just said, but it sure sounded sweet," Rogue raised an eyebrow.

             Remy smirked, "you need to learn, French, Chere.  Such a…romantic language…" he kissed her glove clad hand.  Remy was surprised by how he felt completely at ease once again, already forgetting about the fight they'd had that morning. 

             They left to the garage, the choice of vehicle for the evening being the X-Men's black van.  Remy helped Rogue in, the climbed in himself, "last time I drove this is that night you were drunk, remember?" he asked.

             Rogue reached over and turned on the radio as the van pulled out of the garage, "don't remind me," she rolled her eyes, "god knows what I was thinking."

             "Everyone cuts loose every now and then, Chere," Remy rested his hand on the steering wheel.

             Rogue flicked through radio stations, "Jesus, why is it that all the radio stations in Bayville suck?" she demanded.

             Remy smirked, "because it's a boring town, where pop music reigns supreme," he suggested.

             Rogue turned the dial on the radio, finally coming upon a song that sounded very familiar, she realised it was the song she and Remy had danced to on her sixteenth birthday.  "Freaky," she turned the station quickly.

             "We danced to that," Remy said.

             "Think that's a sign?" Rogue raised an eyebrow with a soft laugh.

             "Could be," Remy leaned back in his seat, Rogue noted the strange rigid way he did.

             "Is your back still hurting?" she asked.

             "Only a little," He shrugged, wincing at the pain.

             "Why didn't you tell me, we could have gone out another time if your back was hurting so bad…" Rogue studied his profile.

             "I'm fine," he assured, "lets not argue."

             "Fine…" Rogue changed the station, "oooh, I love this song!" 

             Remy recognised the voice, but couldn't place the song nor the singer, "who is that," he asked.

             "Black Sabbath," Rogue stated, "its called 'Changes'," she explained.

             "You don't seem like the type of girl to like Black Sabbath," Remy said, "in fact, I would have pictured you as a kind of…I don't know…Slipknot fan," he laughed a little.

             Rogue shrugged, "Hey, Ozzy Osbourne is the Prince of fucking Darkness," she giggled, "didn't you know that?"

             "Well, that would explain biting the head off a bat, wouldn't it?" Remy made a face.

             Rogue gazed out of the window, she hummed to the music a little.  It was hard to believe less than nine hours ago, Remy had been in a foul mood with her.

             Remy smiled a little, and reached over with his hand, and placed it upon hers, she turned and looked at him and smiled a little, blushing, she looked down.  Despite all that had happened lately, for now, everything left wonderful.

             "Dinner was excellent, Remy," Rogue said, as she and Remy were walking down a quiet street towards the parking lot, after an expensive – and romantic – candlelit dinner in an Italian restaurant, "and wow, we didn't argue once."

             Remy lit up a cigarette, cupping a match against the wind, "thanks for not picking fights with me," he smirked, he tossed the match away and then playfully nudged her in the back, the wind whipping furiously around them.

             Rogue walked slowly beside him, her high heels hurting her feet, she limped a little.

             "Girls and their shoes," Remy smirked, he took a long drag of his cigarette.

             Rogue smirked, "they make the posture so much more appealing," she walked beside him, watching the smoke billowing from his mouth.  "When are you going to stop smoking?"

             "The day I see you in sensible shoes," he joked, he walked along at her side, slipping his free arm around her shoulders.

             Rogue leaned into him a little, her hands in the pockets of her suede jacket, "so…what now?"

             Remy drew his breath, "didn't think that far in advance, to be honest," he looked at her, "when we first told the professor we were going to date, we agreed I'd have you home on curfew…" he explained, "and, as mad as I am at him, I don't want to piss him off anymore," Remy flicked the ash off of his cigarette, still walking.

             "My curfew isn't until midnight on weekends, you know that…" Rogue said.

             Remy glanced at his watch, "nine-thirty now," he shrugged, "what do you want to do then, see a movie?"

             Rogue gave an indecisive sigh, "I don't know," she replied, "it seems so…I don't know, mundane for a romantic valentines day night out."

             "Perhaps you're right," Remy took another drag of the cigarette.

             Rogue took the cigarette from him and tossed it away, "Remy, I'm serious, I want you to stop smoking…"

             Remy raised an eyebrow, "lets see, we started fighting at 10am, we'd made up by 12.30pm so that makes it, wow, 9 hours of not fighting, a new record for us, about to be broken of course by none other than Marie D'Ancanto, the girl who loves to argue," he gestured his hands out towards her as if he were presenting a TV show.

             Rogue looked at him, seriousness spread out on her face.

             "Okay, why should I quit?" he asked, giving in.

             "Remy, that shit will kill you," Rogue sighed, she reached over and adjusted his black leather trenchcoat so that it was closed a little more than it had been.

             Remy looked down at her, "bein' an X-Man will kill me, so why not indulge in my one and only vice…"

             "Oh, come ON!" Rogue gaped, "You're saying smoking is your only vice?  You are like a total bad ass, everything you DO is a vice," she walked a little ahead of him.

             "Like?"

             "Sex, drinking, smoking, masturbating, its all evil, you know," Rogue gave a little smirk, she kept walking, the wind whipping around her skirt.

             Remy laughed, "without those things, what use is bein' alive?  It'd be pretty boring," he pointed out, he pulled himself up onto a small wall, and began to walk along it like a tightrope act. 

             "Actually, you're probably right, but see, the others can't really kill you…" Rogue pointed out.

             Remy paused for thought, then started walking again, "Alcoholism can kill you a number of ways, uhm, there's…" he trailed off, "alcohol poisoning," he stated, "and liver disease and all the rest," he stepped forwards and quickly placed one hand down on the wall and forced himself up on it so he flipped himself over with his hand.  "Sex….HIV, AIDs, not to mention a string of nasty other things you can catch," he explained.

             "Masturbating?" Rogue queried.

             "Well I don't know if it can kill you, but I heard a rumour that you can go blind," Remy smirked.

             "That probably depends on where you're pointing it," Rogue remarked.

             Remy burst out laughing, so hard, he slipped off the wall and landed on his backside upon it.

             Rogue giggled, and walked over, "You okay?" she had never quite seen him in such a fit of laughter as he was now. 

             Remy was still laughing, "I banged my ass."

             Rogue sat on the wall, "Better than banging someone else's," she put her hands in her pockets, she glanced over the quiet street, the lampposts gave off a soft light that reflected beautifully on the wet sidewalks.

             Remy took a pack of cards out of his pocket and began shuffling idly, "decided what you want to do, then?"

             "Huh?" Rogue asked, looking at him curiously.

             "What you wanna do now?  Go to a movie, or go dancing or whatever," he shrugged.

             Rogue was silent for a moment, "lets go home…" she looked at him.

             "I thought you didn't want to," Remy glanced back at her.

             "I changed my mind…y'know, maybe I can take a little of the serum…we can test it…" she looked at him hopefully.

             "Marie, sex is not an option for tonight," Remy looked down at the ground distantly.

             "Fine, then we can just…I don't know, work around that, and do other stuff?" she asked.

             Remy looked at her, "You sure you're ready for all that?"

             "All I want is to be close to you…" Rogue stood up. 

             "Fine…lets go…" Remy stood up, and took her gloved hand within his.

             The drive home was silent, there was some tension, and Rogue could feel it in the air, as if the air itself had become solid and tangible, thick and un-breathable.  Despite her self consciousness and fear, she was desperate to get back home, inject the serum, and finally, kiss Remy on the lips, without the fear of hurting him. 

             The mansion was still a bustle of noise when they arrived back, the kids were still up, it being a Friday night, the foyer was empty though, but down the hall they could hear the noise coming from the recreation room.

             "We need a hypodermic," Rogue said quietly to Remy as they entered the foyer, Rogue stepping inside in front of him.  "We can get one from the hospital wing…" she took her suede jacket off and shook it, it had begun to rain heavily outside.  They would have gotten in through the door in the garage leading into a mansion hallway – but someone had locked it.  They had only just made it in before the rain had gotten much worse.  The rain was loud against the windows, sounding like beads hitting glass.

             Remy looked at her, "let me get it, I'm the resident Thief, remember?" he smirked.

             "Alright," Rogue smiled.

             Remy looked at her, "Are you absolutely sure you—" he broke himself off and sighed, "you know it's a risk…"

             "We'll never know until we try…Remy, I'd rather die and touch you than live the rest of my life never being able to," Rogue looked away, "I'm willing to take the risk."

             "It's not worth your life."

             "Its worth a thousand lives," Rogue looked at him, "please, don't start arguing with me now…"

             "Fine…go to my room," he said quietly, knowing Rogue's room was a bit of a chance, since she shared it with Kitty Pryde, "I'll be right up." 

             Rogue was about to agree and to head up the stairway, when there was a knock at the door that startled them both, she turned to Remy, "who'd be visiting at Ten at night?" She asked, she headed over to the door, and opened it.

             A girl stood there, of about eighteen, her long blonde hair plastered to her face and bare arms, her makeup slightly smudged, her lips trembling.  She was clad in a white tanktop which, totally soaked through, making it transparent against the flesh of her large proud breasts.  Rogue found herself gasping, she knew who the girl was at once.

             Remy's voice, angry and alarmed, came out and said the girls name.  "Bella Donna…"


	6. Chapter 6: The Shock

Chapter 6: The Shock

             Remy glanced back to Rogue, then back to Bella Donna, "what the fuck are you doing here?!" he demanded angrily, "can't you get it through your thick fucking skull I'm NOT comin' back?!"

             Bella Donna was hugging herself against the cold, shivering, dripping water all over the porch, "can I come in?" she stammered.

             Remy sighed and gestured for her to come inside, much to Rogue's disbelief.

             "Remy, are you mad?!  She had us both locked in a fucking room under her house!!" Rogue hissed.

             Remy placed a gloved hand on Rogue's bare shoulder to hush her, he looked at Bella Donna, "What is it?"

             "I need to talk with you, mon chere, most urgent."  
             "About?" Remy asked.

             "I can't talk here…" Bella Donna replied, she looked at Rogue pointedly, "Its private."

             "Whatever you need to say, tell me in front of her or don't tell me at all," Remy folded his arms.

             Bella Donna gave a sigh, and in French, she said, "Je suis enceinte."

             Remy looked as if he'd just been kicked in the teeth, his face full of shock, and horror, he looked at Rogue, "Go upstairs, I'll talk to you later…" he said quickly, he grabbed a hold of Bella Donna's arm and pulled her into the nearby Library, and he shut the door firmly, he looked at Bella Donna.

             There was an awkward silence.

             "What the FUCK do you mean you're pregnant?!" Remy burst at her.

             Bella Donna looked away and shrugged, "I'm…pregnant."

             "This is not true…you're making this up!" Remy yelled at her, "I refuse to believe this!"

             Bella Donna had tears in her eyes, "Remy, I'm not makin' this up!  I'm almost two months pregnant!" she yelled.

             Remy sat down on one of the wooden chairs at the large mahogany table, head in his hands, "why are you doin' this to me?!" He demanded.

             "I'm not doin' anything!" Bella Donna screamed at him, "do you think I wanted to get pregnant?!" she screamed, "do you think I wanted to be pregnant to a man who's slept with half of the Big Easy, and now sleepin' with a sixteen year old," Bella Donna walked over to the window that was slightly open, and glanced outside, the rain was pelting violently off of the glass, splattering softly on the windowsill.

             Remy drew in a few deep breaths, wondering how he was going to deal with the situation.

             "It takes two people to make a baby, Remy, you know that…"

             Remy frowned, "do you think I'm stupid?!  Bella Donna, you TOLD me you were on birth control!"

             "Two years ago I was – I told you that I was on the pill two years ago, didn't you even THINK to ask if there was a slightest chance that I might have stopped!" she yelled at him.

             Remy clenched his fists, he wanted to smack her, he felt as if this might be some plot so he might come back to her, all it was doing though was making him incredibly angry – and feeling violent.  "Why the fuck did you stop takin' them?!"

             "Because I didn't think I needed them!!  You weren't around!  You're the only boy I ever slept with!  I didn't need them when you weren't there!" she hissed, "I didn't expect that night to happen, Remy, you were the one who wanted to sleep with me – so you and your little girlfriend had a way of escaping!"

             "Why didn't you tell me then!!?" Remy demanded, his voice growing louder and louder.

             "Because I thought it didn't matter!!!  We were going to get married the next day!" she screamed at him, tears running down her face, she collapsed into a chair by the fire, her hair still soaking wet, dripping onto the tile floor, "I thought maybe that finally you were givin' in…and it wouldn't matter if I got pregnant, 'cause we'd be married, and we'd be livin' happily ever after, just like you always promised…"

             Remy closed his eyes, tried to focus on channelling his anger elsewhere, the last thing he needed was losing control and trying to assault a pregnant woman.  He drew his breath sharply.

             "I…I've booked myself into a clinic…its…it's the reason I'm here," Bella Donna looked at him, "I just…I thought you should know…"

             "You're telling me you're pregnant with MY child and then telling me you're gonna terminate it?!  Don't I have a say?!" he stood up, nearly tripping over the leg of the table as he did.

             "Remy, you're a fucking Thief, I'm an Assassin!  You know what they'd do to us if we had a child out of marriage!"

             Remy frowned, "What are you talking about?"

             Bella Donna's voice faltered, "it's in the bylaws," she sighed, "neither Thief nor Assassin should have a child," she looked at him, "Unless there be a union of marriage…" she looked away, "haven't you ever read the history of the Guilds?"

             "I have, but these bylaws…" Remy trailed off, "I never knew of these…"

             Bella Donna sighed, and wondered nearer the fire, placing her hand on the mantle, staring into the flames, "once I start to show…my father, my grandfather, even my brothers…they'd be after you again…" Bella Donna looked at him, "They'd kill you…I know you've spent these last months avoidin' that very thing, but believe me, for this…they'd mutilate you…" Bella Donna turned back to the fire, "and then…I'd be exiled too…I have nowhere else to go, Remy.  I had to come here to sort it out before it gets worse, one more month and it'll be too late to abort."

             Remy drew his breath, his dreams seemed shattered again, the thought of having to be on the run again, the thought of having Rogue never love him again, and the thought of the guilt of having a child of his own die by termination, it was all too much for him to bear.  

             "You'll stay here…" Remy looked at her, "you'll have the baby, and you can go back to the Big Easy like nothin' ever happened, leave the kid with me…you can pretend it doesn't even exist…"

             "Remy, this is impossible…despite how much I wish it were that easy, it would never work out!" Bella Donna shook her head, "I can't live here, not with you, and not after what I done…what about Rogue?!  She'll kill me herself."

             "Not if I tell her not to…" Remy sighed, "I'll sort something out with the professor, I'll speak to Rogue…I'll sort everything out…just…please, do not have an abortion…"

             Bella Donna looked at him, "why can't you just love me again like you used to…"

             "Because I never did," Remy sighed, and with that, left her in the library on her own.

             Rogue was in Remy's bedroom when he arrived, she was sitting on his windowsill, watching the rain, hugging her knees to her chest, she didn't look happy, suddenly Remy realised that his bedroom windows were above the Library – and those windows had been opened, Rogue must have heard every word.

             Remy looked at her, Rogue didn't look at him, she remained still staring out of the window.  "I heard you yelling…I didn't hear everything," she responded, as if answering to his thoughts as if she could read them.

             "She wants to have an abortion," Remy quietly stated, "I…don't want her to do that…"

             "So what are you going to do?" Rogue asked.

             "She'll live here until the baby is born…" Remy drew his breath, "I'll take the baby, she can go back to the Big Easy…everything will be fine…"

             "Fine," Rogue said, as if it were a final statement to end their relationship.

             Remy sat on his bed, head low, "I have a responsibility."

             "What about your responsibility to me?" Rogue demanded, "the promises that you'd never hurt me again?" she asked, "how can me and you be together having her here for the next seven months?!" she demanded.

             "We can, and will…"

             "And what about when that child is born…Remy, she's never gonna wanna leave that child…" Rogue hissed, she pulled herself off of the windowsill and headed towards the door, "me and you might as well face it, we're through!"

             "She will have nothing to do with the child," Remy stated firmly, "I will bring the baby up on my own…"

             Rogue shook her head, "how do your plans involve me?" she asked.

             "You…you'll be its step mother…" Remy tried desperately, plans coming to his head, he was frantic, trying to find a way to make everything work out.

             "Stepmother?!  I'm sixteen fucking years old,  I'm not old enough to be a step mother, I'm not even old enough to be a mother, and you are in NO fit state to be a father to any child!" Rogue yelled at him.  "What kind of life is this for a child?!" she gestured around her, "amongst mutants – that child would be in danger every day of its life, is that what you want?!" 

             "I have no fucking choice!" Remy felt tears come to his eyes, he suddenly felt trapped and helpless, all the stress of everything in his life beginning to come together to form one big hole he couldn't dig himself out of anymore.  

             "Well I do, I'm quitting us.  It's clear it's never going to work, how many times have we tried and something has come between us?  It's CLEAR we're not meant to be together!" Rogue opened the door.

             "If we weren't meant to be together, we wouldn't feel the way we do!" he called out to her.

             Rogue stopped, and looked over her shoulder at him, tears in her eyes, "just because we love each other doesn't mean its meant to be," she said, "if fate wanted us to be together why is all this happening?"

             "To test us…" Remy broke down into tears, "things will always keep happenin' but if we don't fight them and quit then we'll never know how good we might have been…I don't think I can live if we aren't together, Chere…" 

             Rogue turned fully, "Remy, its over…" she sighed, tears still in her own eyes.

             Remy dropped dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around her stomach, "no…please…" he cried into her stomach, he could no longer contain any emotion, it all came out.

             Rogue moved away, "I can't do this!  I can't…its over!"

             Remy collapsed on the carpeted floor into torrents of tears, it felt like his life was over.

The End (Or is it…?)


End file.
